Way behind!

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Gah! I'm so far behind with my blog! Sorry! We have been busy!

My mum came to visit over her spring break about ten days ago.  I'm so grateful she came to visit! She managed to have perfect timing for the cherry blossoms blooming! There's no way to know when they will bloom, so it was pure luck! We took the bullet train to Kyoto and spent about three days there; we visited the Bamboo Forest (and saw real geisha's there!) and hiked up Fushimi Inari. We could have crammed a lot more into our visit there, but for a first trip it was wonderful! We stayed in a Ryokan, which is like a Japanese B&B.  I booked a traditional Japanese style room, so it had tatami floors, a low coffee table with floor seats, and futons that you unfolded at night to sleep. The futons were surprisingly comfy! The table...well, it's something to get used to. The bathroom had a special set of slippers to wear only when you were in the bathroom.
On the Shinkansen or the "bullet train" to Kyoto!


We grabbed a bento box for the ride.  Delish!

The Ryokan had 'pajamas' for us to use. Comfy!



It was rainy, windy, and cold the day we arrived.  We attempted to explore but were miserable.  Glad they let us check in early!

We lucked out and the cub got his own seat on the train there and back! We didn't have reserved seats so we weren't sure we would even get to sit together. 
The next morning we started the day with a traditional Japanese breakfast.  Rice, salmon, pickled vegetables, scrambled eggs, miso soup, tea...and some weird jelly-like tofu thing. Mum was all about the veggies; I was happy to share! The cub ate most of my scrambled eggs. I wasn't feeling great, so I kept eyeing the toast... After breakfast we got dressed and headed to the Bamboo Forest!



Riskshaw rides were expensive; about $40 for 15 minutes for 2 people. We walked!


Geisha's! They were beautiful! After we took a few photos, the man with them said "No photo!" Whoops!




The 'thing to do' in Kyoto is to rent a Kimono for the day and wear it around. We saw some beautiful ones!



I tried not to influence mum's food choices.  This is mochi; she hated it! The texture reminds me of playdough! 

A beautiful temple and garden we walked around in the middle of the bamboo forest.  We were a few days early for the cherry blossoms here.  It will be stunning when everything is blooming. 








I'm so grateful he's a good traveler! Snuck some naps in while we were out and about. 

So this post doesn't get too long, I'll write another on our day at Fushimi Inari! Stay tuned! I promise I'll continue!

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